MickeyBlog News for April 22nd, 2024
This week, we’ve got LOTS of Disneyland updates. So, let’s talk about The Happiest Place on Earth in MickeyBlog News!
The DisneylandForward Vote
On Tuesday evening, many Disney fans watched democracy in action via the Anaheim City Council’s livestream.
I sat through the entire ordeal, and I’m here to tell you that if you were doing literally anything else, you were having more fun.
Eight hours of people praising and/or complaining about Disneyland gets old fast.
Everyone sat through the exercise because Anaheim officials gave voters a rare opportunity.
The city’s residents enjoyed the chance to speak their minds about the future of Disneyland Resort.
For more than three years now, Disney executives have run a political campaign to change the local laws.
The DisneylandForward campaign unofficially began in April 2021, but its roots reside in mid-1990s zoning ordinances.
Over time, Disney officials recognized that the current restrictions prevented park expansion in the way that strategists preferred.
Disney embarked on a glad-handing process to garner the support of Anaheim City Council members.
As I informed you last year, DisneylandForward was never what anybody thought it was.
This entire initiative centered on dull governmental stuff, the kind that Walt Disney World has always controlled via Reedy Creek.
For fans, they were tangible benefits, specifically the potential for 16 new rides at Disneyland Resort.
So, we all had a vested interest in the outcome of that vote, and I’m happy to say that Disney won it by an emphatic 7-0 margin.
Ultimately, Anaheim officials couldn’t overlook the financial impact of Disneyland expansion for the city.
By one estimate, Disneyland-created tax revenue would double from $140 to $280 million. Nobody votes against that.
Technically, DisneylandForward requires one more vote of approval, that’s a formality.
You can and should expect Disneyland expansion announcements over the next four months. This is real, and this is happening.
More Disneyland Updates
While we’re on the subject of Disneyland, let’s discuss some other updates.
First, we just learned the return date for Fantasmic!, the show that has been *ahem* offline for a while.
You may recall the Maleficent fire that was objectively hysterical and also highly predictable.
Well, Imagineers have reinvented Maleficent in a presumably non-combustible form, thereby allowing the show to reopen.
Starting on May 24th, Fantasmic! will light up the night at Disneyland Resort once again.
Hopefully, Maleficent won’t burn the place down again.
In other park news, Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to green-friendly products.
At Walt Disney World, you’ll find enough solar panels to fuel a small city, which Disney World pretty much is.
Now, Disneyland Park will convert its entire Autopia fleet to fully electric cars.
That’s a move I’m confident Walt Disney himself would have loved.
Also, a pair of fan-favorite tours will return after a prolonged absence.
Finally, you should be aware of this story. Disneyland officials have warned fans not to resale tickets.
This poor, unfortunate soul find himself banned from Disney for a year.
Since he owns a Magic Key and pays monthly, he must keep paying for annual passes he cannot use.
Take Disney seriously on the subject of resales, my friends.
A New Bus Route
I don’t typically discuss metro Orlando bus routes in MickeyBlog News, but we have an exception this week.
Walt Disney World vacationers acutely understand the aggravation Disney created with the end of Magical Express.
Since the free transportation service ended, getting to and from Orlando International Airport has become increasingly difficult.
Now, we pay for service that isn’t as good as what we formerly got for free.
Even worse, the planned Brightline route from the airport to Disney Springs remains in question.
Brightline officials favored the so-called Sunshine Corridor, which alienated Disney.
So, any Brightline station won’t be on Disney property. That’s a lingering problem without an upcoming solution.
What’s infuriating is that Disney ended Magical Express under the auspice that the Brightline station would happen soon. Now, it’s not.
Well, that vacuum has created an opportunity for the Lynx bus system.
According to an announcement this week, Lynx has updated its routes to address the current void for Disney fans.
A new route will transport guests from the airport to the Disney Springs Transfer Center.
Called the Link 311, this option will be available from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. each night.
MickeyBlog will cover this story in greater detail once the service starts. For the moment, we’re optimistic about this new option.
Disney Miscellany
Let’s quickly run through several other stories, the most exciting of which involves Test Track.
Disney has filed the paperwork for the so-called Test Track 3.0 reboot coming soon.
Over the past four weeks, Disney has performed the requisite bureaucratic steps to add new stuff at three different Disney World parks.
Soon, Disneyland Resort will join that list. Obviously, as a theme park fan, you should be extremely excited about Disney right now.
On My Disney Experience, I personally can finally do something about the fact that eight different Davids exist on my account.
During the early days of MyMagic+, the system didn’t always play friendly when booking vacations.
For years now, I’ve had several different versions of myself on my main account…and I’ve been unable to fix it.
Thankfully, Disney has finally addressed the problem, and it only took them ten years! Check out the details here.
At Mission: SPACE, the Space Race game has finally returned.
This is terrific news for tired parents trying to recover from the ride.
You can stick your kid in front of the console and catch your breath.
At Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter, the popular Mardi Grogs Pool Bar is also back.
This is one of my favorite hangout spots at Disney World, and I’d missed it during its downtime.
Finally, our park reporters have discovered the first Smellephant at Magic Kingdom.
We know that Smellephants on Parade is coming soon, and here’s your first thing to sniff. Yes, it’s a sniffing experience.
Obviously, kids are gonna love this one.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney